With the lifting of sanctions and a diversification of Iran’s economy, major companies including BASF and Orange, are eyeing up new opportunities in the country.

British Airways has resumed direct flights between London and Tehran for the first time in four years as links between Iran and the West continued to strengthen following the lifting of most sanctions at the beginning of the year.

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BA, which described Tehran as an “important” destination for the airline, will operate six flights a week, increasing to a daily service by year’s end. It follows Air France’s decision in the spring to restart a scheduled service from Paris after an eight-year gap.

“The Iranians have been extremely helpful in setting up this important new route and have been as keen as we are for the service to start,” said a BA spokesman. “Tehran is an important destination for British Airways and we wanted to ensure that the service we offered met the highest standards our customers rightly expect of us from day one.”

In January, when sanctions started to be lifted, Philip Hammond, the UK’s foreign secretary at the time, urged British companies to take advantage of the new opportunities that were opening up in Iran.